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Democrats Must Resist the Temptation to Deal the Race Card with Romney

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, former GOP presidential contender Newt Gingrich and hordes of right wing talk jocks, bloggers, and conservative writers have recently royally lambasted the Democrats for allegedly playing the race card against Romney and the GOP. They contend that the Democrats deal the race card to: A. Further enrage blacks and Latinos. B. Hopelessly tar the GOP as the second coming of the Klan Grand Wizard and, C. To help nail down President Obama’s reelection.

Maybe, but bear in mind, none of this would work if the GOP for nearly five decades hadn’t turned subtle race baiting through its well constructed legion of code words, phrases, and digs at blacks and minorities into a studied art.
But just because the GOP wallowed in the racial gutter to win elections during these years that’s all the more reason for the Democrat’s not to get down there with them. They don’t need to anyway. Hurling racial charges at Romney and the GOP really isn’t going to get one more vote from those already committed to Obama, and it’s certainly not going to get a vote from racists, both reconstructed and unreconstructed. All it does is leave the Democrats wide open to the endless charge that it race baits and that’s the only way it can win elections. In short the same charge that the GOP has been slammed with.
Democrat after Democrat that will take the podium at the Democratic National Convention would do well to heed the ancient adage that you can’t slop around in a pig pen without getting mud on yourself. The Democrats have a golden chance to take the political and ethical high ground this election. That means resist the temptation to deal the race card.